Saturday, December 24, 2011

50. Santa's Workshop/The Night Before Christmas -- a pair of Disney Silly Symphonies.49. Elmo Saves Christmas48. The Santa Clause 247. Scrooged46. Frasier: "We Two Kings" -- most of the Christmas episodes of Frasier are really good, but this one--the episode where Frasier and Niles fight over hosting Christmas and then attempt to surprise their father at work on Christmas--is usually my favorite.45. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie44. Pluto's Christmas Tree43. Sanford and Son: "Ebenezer Sanford"42. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) -- generally I'm not too much of a fan of the Rankin/Bass holiday specials, but I like this one. I think out of tradition...41. Justice League: "Comfort and Joy" -- for the scenes with J'onn J'onzz spending Christmas with the Kents alone.40. The Vicar of Dibley: "The Christmas Lunch Incident"39. All in the Family: "Edith's Christmas Story" -- I think this is another series that had really great Christmas episodes, especially because they didn't ignore that unpleasantness doesn't take the day off. Sometimes, bad things happen on Christmas, and how you handle them is what makes the difference. (Side note: a show that I think has never handled Christmas well? The Simpsons. God, I hate Simpsons Christmas episodes.)38. The Bear -- Raymond Briggs is magic.

37. Ziggy's Gift -- Richard Williams is also magic.36. South Park: "Woodland Critter Christmas"35. Quantum Leap: "A Little Miracle" -- the episode where Sam and Al pull a Scrooge on Charles Rocket. Obviously, I'm quite a sucker for A Christmas Carol.34. Family Guy: "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas" -- one of a small number of episodes of this show that I truly love. This is back when the show was animated, like a cartoon, instead of static. And I totally love the KISS Saves Santa stuff.33. King of the Hill: "Mrs. Wakefield" -- King of the Hill also did great Christmas episodes; they're all good, but this is one of my favorites, with an elderly woman demanding to die in the Hill home.32. Mickey's Christmas Carol -- I saw this in the theater, but I have no memory of what it played in front of...

31. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas30. South Park: "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" -- a number of songs from this end up on my Christmas Playlist.29. A Garfield Christmas28. All in the Family: "Edith's Crisis of Faith" -- this is the one where Edith's drag queen friend gets murdered and Edith doesn't feel like going to church anymore. This one hits close to home for me, mostly because of my sister.27. Futurama: "A Tale of Two Santas"26. Toy Tinkers -- Christmas cartoon with Chip and Dale, which gives these guys two appearances on this list.25. A Muppet Family Christmas

24. The Lemon Drop Kid23. King of the Hill: "Pretty, Pretty Dresses" -- the one where Bill goes crazy and thinks he's his ex-wife. God, I love this show. I can't believe they canceled this... but it did free me from having to watch anything on Fox.22. Die Hard -- come on, this counts.21. Doctor Who: "A Christmas Carol" -- my personal favorite Who Christmas episode. Can't wait to see tomorrow's!20. Love Actually19. It's a Wonderful Life18. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) -- the original, accept no substitutes. Although Richard Attenborough is actually quite a nice Santa Claus in the retread, er, remake. Good performance in a movie that has zero reason to exist. But the original is a classic and a favorite.

17. Christmas Eve on Sesame Street16. Blackadder's Christmas Carol15. Married...with Children: "You Better Watch Out", "It's a Bundyful Life", "Christmas", and "The Worst Noel" -- one of my all time favorite shows. I don't care what you think, it was funny as hell. All of the Christmas episodes were hilarious, but these four make for a nice, hilarious mini-marathon. They work so well together I decided to cheat and make them one entry.14. The Nightmare Before Christmas13. Scrooge (1951)12. Peace on Earth -- the classic, scary MGM cartoon by Hugh Harman. A cautionary Christmas.

11. A Christmas Carol (1971) -- the animated short film by Richard Williams, with Alistair Sim and Michael Hordern reprising their roles from Scrooge.10. A Christmas Story9. Eloise at Christmastime8. Gremlins -- come on, this counts, too.

7. Father Christmas -- I rather like the idea of Santa Claus as English.6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1965) -- the Chuck Jones cartoon, of course.5. The Muppet Christmas Carol4. A Charlie Brown Christmas3. A Christmas Carol (1999) -- this one with Patrick Stewart is my favorite filmed version of my favorite Christmas story. The CD version of Stewart's one-man show is also impeccable. And if you haven't read the original Dickens, my goodness, do it now.2. John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together1. The Snowman -- I can't think of a sweeter impression of Christmas.